That's Boston for you

Huge shocker here: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick supports changing the state's senatorial succession law so that he can make an interim appointment, and it now appears, in the wake of Kennedy's death, that after initial resistance the legislature will go along, the Globe reports.

You'll recall that they changed the law to the current standard -- no interim appointment, delayed special election -- because of politics in 2004, when they thought John Kerry might be elected president and wanted to deny then-governor Mitt Romney the chance to make an appointment.

So now they're headed toward changing it back:

Kennedy's widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, this week called Senate President Therese Murray, urging Murray to support her husband's request, State House sources said. Murray had indicated privately that she was reluctant to change the law.

While Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo - whose support for the change in law would be key - remained publicly noncommittal yesterday, the House leader has privately expressed his support for the change, sources involved in the conversations said. Murray in the last few days has signaled that she has softened her opposition and could accept the idea. She even gave the green light to a lieutenant to gather support in the Senate for the legislation.

As I indicated last week when I wrote about this, I don't considerable this attractive or admirable. I think the real overtly political move was made in 2004, and I think a state ought to have two senators, and yes, I think the fact that there may very well be a vote in the Senate during this interregnum on an issue that the deceased senator spent 40 years fighting for is a legitimate factor to weigh.

And this is a case in which I think I'd be consistent across ideological lines. If we were talking about Republicans from Idaho instead of Democrats from Massachusetts, I'd be hard put to argue that Idaho didn't deserve to have both its rightful senators seated.

In an ideal world. Patrick will appoint Vicki Kennedy, who'll cast the historic vote, return to private life and let the contestants scrum it out in January.